Brexit bites British shoppers

Stores suffer as exports to Spain dropped in January

SUPPLIERS of British food products in Spain are in a pickle over Brexit.

The problems have come as exports passing through British ports to the EU fell by a staggering 68% in January compared with the same month last year, according to the UK’s Road Haulage Association.

Exporting fresh food items from the UK has become an incredibly complex procedure but stores have found a way to partly plug the gap – thanks to an Irish connection.

Many visitors to the Overseas Iceland chain, which has branches all over the Costa Blanca will have noticed a new name has appeared on the fresh products – SuperValu.

Supervalu is part of the Musgrave Group and Ireland’s largest grocery and food distributor, with 223 stores throughout the country.

Over 75% of their products are either produced or sourced in Ireland and now Overseas Iceland has managed to get some stocks back on the shelves in Spain.

Lorries leave from Rosslare in Ireland to Dunkirk rather than being routed through the UK avoiding the colossal amount of paperwork now required to export fresh food. Although it adds an extra day on to the transit, it alleviates custom complications.

The Road Haulage Association has contacted the British government over the ‘urgent need’ to increase the number of customs officers to help firms with mountains of extra paperwork. Around 10,000 are currently employed, which is a fifth of what the RHA says is required to handle the increase.